


Re: Calibration

by silveradept



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angry Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Awesome Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), F/M, Keyblade Wielder Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Limit Attack (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Protective Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25621456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept
Summary: Today is not Riku's day for staying dry. It is, however, his day for learning and more fully understanding what his sparring opponents are capable of, to his benefit.
Relationships: Kairi/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 6
Collections: Rare Pairs Exchange 2020





	Re: Calibration

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Serie11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/gifts).



Riku swung again, knowing before Aqua sidestepped it that he was going to miss. This entire sparring session was a clear example to him about the difference between being a self-taught Keyblade Master and one who had trained for most of their lives under a Master dedicated to the arts of the Keyblade. There was no way to describe it other than that Aqua was aptly named. No matter how Riku tried to disguise his strikes and spells, no matter how sure he was that Aqua didn't know what he would do next, Aqua seemed to _flow_ around him into an advantageous position for herself.

Riku had swiftly lowered his sights from giving Aqua a workout to seeing if he could get Aqua to make a mistake, and even that didn't seem to be something he had the skill to achieve. Retreating slightly to reassess the battlefield, Riku saw Terra block one of Kairi's strikes and push her back. Another aptly-named Master, Riku had found out. When Terra didn't want to be moved, there was little that could displace him.

"Where do you think Sora is right now?" Terra called, pushing Kairi away again with a flick of his Keyblade.

"Probably with Ventus, goofing off and thinking about how they're going to tell us they were training," Aqua said, reappearing in Riku's vision from wherever she had been and driving him back with a smile on her face. 

Riku grimaced and launched a Dark Firaga at Aqua, who was already whirling away from it before it got to her. While he knew Aqua would dodge it, it was still on line to catch Terra unaware. Riku could at least be happy about that. Until Terra caught it on his Keyblade, without even bothering to _look_ at Riku, and carved a swath of flames that Kairi had to launch herself to treetop height to clear.

"Riku!" she shouted. "Stop making it harder for me!"

"Sorry!" he shouted back, before he had to defend against Aqua's expertly-placed strikes, always seeming to come at his back, no matter how hard he tried to keep her squarely in front of him. Between them, the two Masters put Kairi and Riku side-by-side and drove them back toward the cliff's edge.

"Hrmph," Riku said.

"Should we show them what we've been working on?" Kairi asked, a twinkle in her eye. 

"Sure," Riku said, and the two began to chant.

> "Light and Dark,  
>  Dusk and Dawn,  
>  Join two hearts  
>  Together as one!"

A copy of Destiny's Embrace appeared in Riku's left hand, as a copy of Braveheart appeared in Kairi's left hand. They both turned to see Terra standing in front of them, an amused look on his face as he readied himself to defend against them both. Aqua had disappeared well out of range in the intervening time.

Kairi charged as Riku circled, Terra's blade flashing to meet her before swinging a wide circle that Riku tried to block with one blade. The clash of weapons sent Riku tumbling onto the sand. Riku jumped up to rejoin the fray, swinging both Keyblades and calling on the techniques he'd learned from all of his adventures. But where Aqua never allowed Riku to land a strike, Terra never seemed to have a break in his defense, rarely letting either Riku or Kairi get to his side, much less behind him. Sensing their time was running out, Kairi and Riku retreated and leveled their Keyblades at Terra, both glowing with one orb of light and one of darkness.

"Together!" they said, launching all four attacks at Terra. Right before they would have struck him, he slashed his Keyblade through all four, exploding them and creating a cloud that neither Riku nor Kairi could see through to see if Terra had suffered any damage at all from their combined efforts.

When the smoke cleared, Terra didn't appear to have a hair out of place, and was already charging his next attack. Looking around, Riku spotted an explosion building underneath Kairi's feet that she seemed unaware of.

"Kairi!" Riku shouted, dashing over to knock her away from the attack. Riku braced himself as the dark pillar erupted underneath his feet, slinging him high into the air and over the cliff's edge before splashing down into the ocean surrounding the islands. He managed to drag himself out of the water and back on to the beach before flopping down on the sand, breathing heavily. Several cuts made themselves known as soon as he did, but nothing seemed broken or seriously injured.

"Hmph. Serves me right," he said, wincing. Sitting up, he cast a Cure over himself to make things more bearable.

"It certainly does," Kairi said from further up the beach, moving in his direction. "What were you thinking, Riku?"

"Old habits die harder," Riku said, shrugging as Kairi sat next to him. For his honesty, Kairi rewarded him with more pain up and down his right arm by punching him in the shoulder.

"I'm not a princess that needs saving any more," Kairi said crossly. "You're just as bad as Sora."

"Am not," Riku said immediately. "Sora wouldn't have understood the drama value of being blasted over a cliff edge." Riku coughed, wincing again as his chest explained there were a few additional bruises he needed to think about when he cast the next Cure. "Where are the esteemed Kayblade Masters, anyway?"

"Terra took a look at you when you hit the water and said you'd be fine before walking off," Kairi said, looking Riku over for injuries. "He wasn't wrong."

"Ouch," Riku said. "That hurts worse, somehow. Does anyone care about my noble self-sacrifice?"

"No."

Riku flopped back onto the sand, sighing.

"It's different now," Kairi said, staring at the stars in the sky. "Xehanort and Eraqus are gone, Organization XIII is disbanded, and the keyholes between worlds are sealed. I still can't quite believe it's done."

"It isn't," Riku said from the sand. "Xehanort was convinced there was another great Keyblade War coming. There will always be people trying to use the power of Kingdom Hearts. King Mickey is still concerned about these things, so we have to keep training and getting stronger."

" _Exactly_ ," Kairi said. "I _can't_ get stronger if you and Sora keep sweeping in to rescue me any time you think I'm in danger."

"You're a Princess of Heart," Riku said. "I can't stand to lose you, or Sora, again."

Kairi looked distinctly unimpressed with Riku's plea. "I can defend myself now. Aqua, Terra, Master Yen Sid, they've all been training me because they realize that helpless princesses are…helpless!" she finished exasperatedly. "I can't make progress unless you trust that I'll be okay."

Riku smiled. "You'll be fine," he said, before yelling in pain as all of his cuts and bruised were aggressively Curaga-ed into nonexistence.

"Ow," was all he could manage through the torrent of nerve endings firing and re-settling.

"I'll prove it to you," Kairi said, pointing her Keyblade at him.

"Whenever you're ready," Riku said, getting easily to his feet.

Kairi closed the distance faster than he had expected, but he still blocked her first strike before dodging back to get more space between them.

Kairi flash-stepped back into his face, thrusting at him quickly enough that he only barely deflected her blade. Kairi went with the motion, dispelling and re-summoning her Keybalde into her other hand to strike at his other side. Riku ducked and rolled underneath her attack, bringing his Keyblade back to a ready position.

The crackle of electricity in the air gave him enough warning to jump clear before the thunderbolt crashed down in the space where he had just been. He had barely enough time to jump again before the second bolt struck, and he had to throw up a reflective shield to safely land in the space where the third one was waiting for him. He heard the shield reflect Kairi's follow-up strike as well, giving him enough time to block her next attack and carry his momentum into sidestepping the fireball that flew through the spot where he was.

Nothing that Kairi was doing was particularly strong, but Riku had been surprised at how fast Kairi seemed to be moving from one thing to the next. She'd come a long way since the person who was reluctant to spar with actual Keyblades because she was concerned for people getting hurt. Terra repeatedly knocking the stuffing out of Sora and Riku together had made it easier for her to accept that curative magic healed a lot, especially those things inflicted by accident.

Kairi's strategy seemed to be focused pushing him back toward the water, which was fine with Riku, because he could fight in wet sand equally as well as on dry sand.

"Planning on getting wet with me?" he said, grinning at her.

"You…wish," Kairi replied, taking a big swing at his legs.

Riku hopped back to the tide line, ready to exploit the opening Kairi left with her sweep. Before his feet touched sand again, however, he was yanked backward over the water by a strong force. He hadn't seen Kairi cast anything.

Further speculation on Kairi's casting abilities were doused as the same force that had pulled him into the air pulled him downward into the water at a speed that made his belly flop painful. He wasn't under for very long before being yanked out of the water again and held in the air by the Magnega spell that Kairi was using to pin him.

"Do you give up yet?" she called to him.

"No," Riku called back. "I'll just—"

The water cut off his response and Kari's other Magnega spell held him underneath a little bit longer before pulling him back out, coughing and winded.

"How about now?"

"We'll call it a draw," he shouted back. 

"I could duck you again," she offered as an alternative.

Riku flung Braveheart into the sand near Kairi. 

"That's better," she said. 

In response, Riku teleported himself to Braveheart, before dispelling it. Kairi checked to make sure he wasn't planning on bringing it back when her guard was down, before letting Destiny's Embrace fade away.

"You'll have to teach me that trick sometime," Kairi said.

"I learned it from Sora. He said that if the Keyblade always returns to its owner's hand, then it should be easy enough to move the hand instead of the Keyblade. I never got the hang of it until after I'd been Sora's Dreameater. Maybe if you dive into his heart, it'll make sense to you, too."

Kairi shrugged. "Another thing to ask Sora when he gets back from playing with Ventus."

"So, now that both you and Terra have gotten me wet today, what would you like to do next?" Riku teased.

"I'll take my tribute from you, since I won," Kairi said.

"Tribute, huh?" Riku said. "What are your demands?"

"Just one, since I didn't have to use my full might against you," Kairi told him. She tapped her lips in apparent thought. "I get to kiss you."

Riku blinked. "If that's what you want, sure," he responded, offering his cheek to Kairi.

"Not there," Kairi said, shaking her head slyly. "I want a proper kiss."

"And what will Sora think about that?" Riku asked.

"He'll be jealous he didn't get one as well, but that's easily fixed."

"He should have to work for it as hard as I did," Riku said.

"He will," Kairi said. "He's at least as stubborn as you are and he cheats more."

Riku wasn't entirely sure what to say in response to that. Kairi took advantage of his state to lean in and get her kiss. His heart felt the deep connection between them, and Riku understood that he could stand here on the beach for a very long time and just get lost in this kiss.

Kairi, however, seemed unconvinced of the timelessness of their kiss, for she broke it off far too soon for Riku's liking.

"You're too salty," she said.

"That's partially your fault," Riku pointed out.

"Is not," Kairi replied. "You didn't have to do any of the things that got you wet."

Riku shrugged. Sora and Ventus appeared around the corner, talking animatedly with each other. Seeing Kairi and Riku, they both froze.

"They look guilty," Riku said.

"Like they've been trying to avoid work," Kairi agreed.

"Should we make them work?" Riku asked.

"Together?" Kairi said, offering her hand.

"Together," Riku nodded, taking Kairi's hand. She pulled him in for another kiss. It felt like a longer timelessness to Riku than the one before, a promise of happiness for them both.

"Try to stay dry this time," Kairi said when she'd finished kissing Riku, winking at him before taking off after Sora and Ventus. 

Riku shook his head. How lucky he was to have them both. They'd always welcomed him with open hearts, and because of that, he was never going to let anyone hurt them, ever. Even if he had to rethink how much both of them could fight for themselves.

He started an easy run after Kairi. Knowing Ventus and Sora, they'd try to split up and sneak past Kairi while she was chasing them. He wouldn't let them sneak by without showing him what they could do as well.

Soon enough, they would all face the future. Together.


End file.
